Wallpaper* Design Awards: A ‘no-hands’ watch is the Best Time Warp of 2026

Collaborations between watch brands can be very successful when each brand brings a strong visual identity of their own to the table, so when the richly traditional Swiss manufacture Ulysse Nardin announced a partnership with avant-garde Genevan watchmaker Urwerk, we were more than a little intrigued – particularly as this is Ulysse Nardin’s first collaboration with a fellow watchmaking brand.

On closer inspection, however, the pairing is not as surprising as it might seem, as both brands have pursued a modern, technical-first approach over the last few years, with cultural moments overlapping on both their timelines. Founded by Martin Frei and Felix Baumgartner in 1997, Urwerk has come to be defined by its futuristic watch design and high-tech principles, as well as its use of a ‘satellite’ system for displaying the time.

Meanwhile, despite boasting a historical lineage, the 1846-founded Ulysse Nardin has increasingly adopted modern sensibilities, culminating in the 2001 release of the Freak, which is defined by its hands-free way of telling the time, displayed by the rotating movement itself.

To mark their first collaboration, the two brands chose to reinterpret the Freak, which was the first luxury watch to incorporate a silicon escapement, significantly improving efficiency, durability and accuracy. Powered by a new movement that the two brands developed together, the Ur-Freak unites Urwerk’s satellite system with Ulysse Nardin’s penchant for silicon. Time is shown by one of the three ‘hands’, which move around the minute indicator on the right side; once an hour has passed, the disc changes and the next hand begins to read the time.

More brands playing with time

Innovative ways of telling the time are proving to be a current trend. For French watch brand Trilobe, traditional hands are eschewed in favour of a system of indicators and rotating rings, with three different rings displaying hours, minutes and seconds. A pointer highlights where the information lines up, thus revealing the time. It is intuitive rather than confusing – the wearer is invited to ‘take’ the time, rather than be led by it.

This philosophical bent is also considered by Swiss watchmaker HYT, which uses fluids to tell the time. In place of the traditional hour hand, a liquid indicator containing coloured fluid shows the time that has passed, and a transparent fluid shows the time to come.

For Ressence, a minimalist aesthetic overrules a complicated display, creating a watch face where all the elements are constantly in motion. It’s a reflection on the nature of time itself, and yet another indication that the act of telling time, heavy in philosophical symbolism, is a work of art in its own right.

The Ur-Freak is available in a limited-edition run of 100, price on request, ulysse-nardin.com, urwerk.com

This article appears in the February 2026 Design Awards Issue of Wallpaper* , available in print on newsstands, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News + from 8 January. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today